Christmas spirit

Ready for a break? Looking forward to the Christmas holidays? It's time to go into the Christmas spirit and enjoy the little things that come with it.

If you've never been to the UK during the Christmas season, here's a glimpse of it. Today, I am taking you to the oldest pub of Shropshire, The Threehorseshoes in Alveley. This public house dates from 1406 and is still standing. Its cosy rooms with low ceilings and its huge fire place, make it ideal for the perfect warm Christmas by the fire.

1 - The Threehorseshoes - Alverley, Shropshire

2 - Its beautiful fire place

3 - The well-deserved refreshing drinks

Santé !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Autumn: The season's softness

This year, Autumn has been soft, then cold. Colder than expected. 

The orange and red colours arrived late. Later than expected. 

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Somehow it seems that winter arrived early. Earlier than expected...

Nelson Mandela's Legacy

Just like many people, I was saddened by the news about Nelson Mandela passing away.

Pensive lady on Robben Island

He showed immense courage, incomparable strength and stern determination towards an idealism. And he delivered it despite most of his life spent in prison and the struggle outside those years. Nelson Mandela represented Hope, Peace, Freedom, Justice and Human Rights. He inspired nations, always does and always will. 

The birds of Robben Island

As I was in Cape Town (back in 2012), I visited Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 17 years. The atmosphere was joyful among other visitors and it was clear that the people of South Africa and other countries came to the Island to understand the history and put in perspective his achievements.

His Legacy : 

 Messages of Hope and Freedom

Driven by Freedom

This Journey's never long when freedom is the destination

Proud South Africans

(apologies for the quality of the photo - my enthusiasm took over technique!)

I hope that Nelson Mandela was proud of what he did. I am sure these young kids are proud of him and always will be. 

Short spin in Duluth

During my holiday in Minnesota, travelling from lake superior back to Minneapolis, I briefly stopped in Duluth and had a good vibe for the place. What I like most about this city was the discovery of the "old" side of the town, as I noticed the old adverts wearing off the old brick walls.

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The diner, an American experience

In my opinion (as a European citizen), when you go to the States for the first time, you have to set foot in a diner. It's an experience not to be missed.

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Just to have the sensation that you're in the first scene of Pulp Fiction or other American movies where dodgy dealings can take place...

It's also the knowledge that you can have coffee for as long as you want and that your eggs will be done exactly as you would cook them yourself at home. To perfection!

It's the smell of the warm blueberry pancakes and the maple syrup slowly drizzling onto your breakfast. All you can do is sit down, look around and enjoy the food and the experience. 

Before moving on..

What is your experience of the diner? 

The skies of Minneapolis

In downtown Minneapolis, when you look up, skies of lines, mirrors and reflections surround you. You feel small as they look grand.

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Sortie la Part Dieu avec Image Contact

Image Contact, l'association photo dont je fais partie, organise de temps à autre des sorties, selon nos envies photographiques. Et nous avons décidé d'aller faire un petit tour un dimanche matin dans le quartier de la Part Dieu, au centre de Lyon.

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Il y avait Serge, Matthieu, Chrystel, Charly et moi-même. Nous nous sommes bien amusés avec les lignes, les courbes et les réflexions des immeubles des années 70 (et autres) qu'offrait le quartier.

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Aujourd'hui, je vous propose aussi d'aller guetter sur le blog d'Image Contact les photos des autres photographes. C'est toujours intéressant, je trouve, de découvrir les autres regards du même sujet. Nous incitons les intéressés de la photo à commenter pour échanger et partager cette passion.

A très bientôt.

City reflections

My latest reflections took place in Minneapolis during a family holiday and in Lyon during a photo outing.

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3 - Lyon

4 - Lyon

Reflecting on these times, the family holiday in the US was fantastic and the outing with fellow photographers allowed me to take a step further into learning and searching...

To be continued!


This post is also published through the blog Weekend Reflections...(Thank you James for the opportunity)

The colours of Auvergne

Auvergne is a region I often visit as my parents moved there a few years back from Brittany. Over the time, I have taken photos of this volcanic region and today I decided to put my favourite ones together.

This series captures the colours of the countryside and the light of the region.

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I enjoy walking in the countryside and learn to appreciate the natural beauty of the Auvergne region.

The Stacked Hay Man

Introducing people into my photos is not so natural for me, but I am working on it.

During this improvised shoot, the difficulty was to ensure the session would not last too long, as when the sun is as gorgeous as it was, there's a time limit for itchy hay into your back!

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Thank you Andy!

White silhouettes

Who were you and how did you manage to escape the paint, or did you escape the paint??? 

These questions came to my mind when I saw these white silhouettes on the wall surrounded by different paint colours. Was it a project? Or pure fun? What was the objective? Why all these different poses? 

It's all a bit intriguing, so I took some photos from an angle to try and make these silhouettes more alive. 

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If you are aware of this project or have ever been involved in such thing, please enlighten me! 

Have a fun week. 

Sun, Sun, Sunflowers

As I went for a walk in the centre of France, in Auvergne, I stopped when I saw these rather low looking sunflowers. The whole field was full of saddened yellow flowers, losing faith in the sun.

Except for a few cheered up ones, looking proud and knowing their days were not over yet.

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Have a sunny week!

Metallic curves

During one of the summer outings among photographers, metallic and stringy curves stood still, right above our meeting point. I looked up, gained some height and twisted my camera to obtain a more curvy effect.

As I developed the photos, I first opted for a strong contrasted black and white look, emphasizing on the lines.

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As colour also appeals to me, I chose another 2 photos to emphasize on the blue that surrounded the metallic curves. 

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Hopefully the blue sky will stay with us for a while!

To find out what the other photographers were up to during our outing, check their sites: Véronique, Isa and Chrys.